Peter Mark May on Kneeling in the Silver Light

The Great War started a hundred years ago. What is the link between your story in Silver Light and that war?

It’s set in the Great War. Based on Fred Fernackerpan; a name a retired Army Major I use to work with when I was 17, called me, as there were two other Peters in the office. Sometimes he’d call me Peter Minimus, or sometimes Fred Fernackerpan, a term that is slowly dying out of the English language. I love delving into the past, and the mystery surrounding where the name Fernackerpan comes from is pretty obscure.

What concerns did you have when it came to writing your story, how you planned to cover the subject matter? Were you worried that the anthology might have become too much like a regular “horror” book?

I don’t think I had any real concerns, other than not to put out something that trivialises the suffering and death of millions.

When writing stories what’s your usual arena (SF, fantasy, historical, etc)? Did writing (your story) for Silver Light create difficulties because of the change to the war genre?

Not really, I’ve written military horror stories in the past, it’s something I enjoy.

What’s your preferred choice of reading matter? And do you rather go for novels or short stories?

Horror novels, but I love short stories too, having published quite a few from various writers over the past four years.

Which writer would you invite to dinner, and why?

J.R.R. Tolkien back from the dead. So I can ask him if his lack of organised religion in Middle earth was deliberate and was it the result of the horrors he saw during WWI.

What other question should I have asked?

When can you write for me again? (Smiles)

Anything exciting happening on your literary horizon?

My two novels with Samhain Horror, Hedge End and AZ: Anno Zombie, are being turned into Audiobooks soon.